Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James review

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L.James (Fifty Shades #1)

bought
(18+ book, but nothing explicit in the review)


Synopsis from Goodreads
When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

Amazon UK
Amazon US

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- Why don't you like to be touched?
- Because I'm fifty shades of fucked-up, Anastasia 

This one is a very difficult beast of a book to review without revealing some uncomfortable truths about oneself. At a glance the synopsis makes you think it's erotica, but despite the abundance of sex, it's not. It cautions of BDSM but it's very light and serves as background to the relationship developing between Ana and Christian.



Fifty Shades of Grey is out of my comfort zone, and only consistent rave reviews and long discussions around the blogosphere made me finally cave in and read it after which I promptly went and bought the second book and read it too. The book is undeniably brilliant, one of the best I've read in 2011, but it's not to everyone's taste. You'll either love it or hate it.


At a first glance the relationship of Ana and Grey are very much like of Bella and Edward. She is an innocent young graduate, vulnerable and quiet. However all the men around her want this girl.


Grey is a very rich, young, handsome CEO, obssessed with control, warning Ana that he is no good for her but literally stalking the girl. 


Yup, I can totally see Bella & Edward. However, as the story progresses you notice that Ana doesn't have a victim mentality, and Grey has certain reasons for his behaviour. There are few traumatic events in his past which made him what he is, turning him in a control freak, who can only be in BDSM relationships as a dominant. He acknowledges his issues and does try to seek help in therapy.


Ana knows the score before starting to date Grey, however very strong physical attraction, the lure of excitement and danger pushes her to agree to Christian's conditions. She sees the potential in Grey and like all of us falls in love with it and tries not to stay with Grey in the dark but pull him out into the light.


I'm cryptic, I know. I just don't want to discuss the plot itself. What gets me is that you can have a field day looking into behavioural motivation of these two, Grey's harsh sexuality reminds me of Barrons, and the plot is very engrossing and emotionally wrenching.


There are sudden gems in this book like emails to each other where Ana and Grey show completely different sides, but there are disturbingly dark moments too. The heat is also off the charts.


So bear in mind this is an adult book, and if you are over 18 and you think you can handle it, I dare you to read Fifty Shades of Grey!

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Ревью на русском здесь.

10/10